HMCS Edmonton - 703


 

Commissioned on 21 June 1997 as the first ship of her name, the Edmonton is one of 12 Kingston-class Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels; these ships are slightly smaller than a corvette and designed to be highly versatile, with easy modifications for specific missions ranging from coastal patrols to minesweeping to deep-sea survey to disaster response.

Crewed almost entirely by reservists, she began her career conducting surveillance, search and rescue, and collaborating with other branches of the Canadian government and military in law-enforcement operations such as anti-smuggling, resource protection, and fisheries and environmental monitoring. 

In 2002. Edmonton and three of her sister ships deployed to Mexico, and for the first time in 25 years, Canadian ships worked with the Mexican Navy. In the same year, she also participated in Exercise RIMPAC; during which her voyage to Hawaii was the longest non-stop distance travelled by Kingston class vessels at the time. 

More recently, the Edmonton has joined anti-drug trafficking operations with the US Navy and Coast Guard, and fellow Canadian coastal defence vessels such as the Whitehorse, Saskatoon, and Nanaimo. She has also performed surveillance in the Arctic with the Yellowknife as part of Operation Limpid.

Reference Links:
Government of Canada - HMCS Edmonton